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Weekly Survey of Gold and Silver Prices
Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark
Money Daily has been providing business and financial market news, views, and coverage on a nearly continuous basis since 2006. Complete archives are available at moneydaily.blogspot.com.
PRIOR COVERAGE:
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Sunday, October 4, 2026, 12:24 pm ET The week just past was something of a snoozer, other than Friday's lift-off thanks to the weak Non-farm payroll numbers for September. Showing a gain of just 29,000 jobs over the month and negative revisions to July and August, the report served the interests of the speculative class, who viewed the weak labor market as a clue to the Fed's next action on interest rates, figuring the FOMC would be inclined to keep rates steady at the October 27-28 meeting, which also falls a week before the midterm election. That thesis proved to be good enough to propel stocks higher, interest rates lower, and spirits brighter heading into the weekend. The biggest event of the weekend won't be the Chiefs-Raiders game, but Sunday's presidential election in Brazil, where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva holds a narrow polling lead over right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, though the polling data is well within te margin of error and South America overall has been leaning right lately, so the chances for conservative Bolsonaro are considered good. If neither candidate polls an outright majority, the two would engage in a final, run-off election October 25. Results of the election may be known before halftime of the late football game, in case anybody is interested. It's officially silly season, with early voting already open in a handful of states, including Illinois, which allows early voting 40 days before the actual election day. More states will be opening the polls this week and next, with nearly all early voting states accepting ballots by the middle of October, as 15-20 days before election day is pretty much the average. The President and the press are going to keep the lid on events in the Middle East, or at least try to shield the general public from reality, for the next month. After the midterms and the possible political "changing of the guard," there might be reason to change investing tactics, but, with the Democrats favored to win the House, and thus, split the government, that translates into good news, as no new legislation would be likely for two years. It may pay to be hopeful that the government just staggers along until the next election. Stocks The NASDAQ, and, notably, the Dow Jones Transportation Average, were the only major indices to put on gains over the past week. The NASDAQ, up less than 1/2 percent on the week, got a major boost on Friday, the jobs number serving as a catalyst to send tech stocks higher. The calculus for the move on the NASDAQ requires some sleight of hand. Tech and AI-related stocks need to borrow to expand, and keeping interest rates at what might be considered reasonable levels is a big step in the right direction. A weaker labor market keeps the Fed from raising rates too aggressively, at least for the moment. Gains on the Transports had more to do with wishful thinking over gas and diesel prices, which have eased over the past week. Markets are so transitory these days that stock prices can be affected by simple headlines and make extreme moves in days or weeks. The level of speculation in markets, widely reflected in the tranny average, is enormous and the degree of crowding, dangerous. The rest of the market is in a funk. The Dow is down roughly six percent from its August 5 high. The S&P has been flattened out over the same time span. There's still another full week of trading before the banks and airlines begin releasing third quarter earnings reports, though Delta will announce Friday (October 9) before the opening bell. On te economic front, the market will digest the S&P global PMI release at 9:45 am ET and ISM Service PMI at 10:00 am ET on Monday, so it could be a busy morning for traders. After that, economic data will be a trickle, and likely not very important. Minutes from the last FOMC meeting are released on Wednesday and weekly unemployment claims on Thursday. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment poll data is out on Friday. Relevant data releases can be found at Trading View. Treasury Yield Curve Rates
Friday's jobs number (+29,000) impacted stocks and bonds alike, with the prospect of the Fed keeping interest rates on hold at the October 27-28 FOMC meeting elevated due to perceived weakness in the labor market. Despite prices for long-dated maturities rising and yields falling, the general picture, on a weekly basis, was still unpleasant, with 30-year bond yields rising 14 basis points and 10-year note yields up 11 basis points. While those figures were off the highs earlier in the week, they are still above the comfort level for the government on an ongoing basis. Demand continues to weaken for U.S. debt and there's little anybody can do - and that includes Treasury Secretary Bessent and Fed Chair Warsh - about the ailing condition of the market. With the yield on two-year notes barely budging, 2s-10s expanded to +45, up 20 basis points over the past two weeks. Full spectrum continues to test the high end of the range, screaming to +159 reflecting stronger growth, higher inflation, and greater government borrowing needs. The evident danger appears to be at the long end, which doesn't seem to want to stop pricing in high inflation and persistent government spending. Borrowing costs to finance the behemoth U.S. government are blowing out. While that's not a problem for the general economy yet, the bankruptcy of the federal government continues unabated and the issue has gone past a level of seriousness to what most people would define as a crisis. Spreads:
2s-10s
Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years) Oil/Gas Oil prices continues to trend in a range of $91-93 for WTI crude on the futures market, with the Middle East remaining a hot potato, though not as hot as previously, as the U.S. government attempts to keep a lid on prices until the midterm elections. Average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. was $4.45 last week and $4.33 this week, a solid drop in prices just in time for the midterms. Lower prices at the pump are generally considered to be a positive for the Republican party and the timing of various initiatives by President Trump and his gang might be a little off, since early voting has already begun in some states while the price of gas remains unacceptably high, though it's obvious that Trump will be pulling out all stops to get the price lower as more states open for early voting (generally from 7 to 20 days before actual election day). Looking at individual states, the biggest drops in price occurred in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Florida and Georgia saw prices fall, on average, by 36 cents. In Michigan, the price has been falling for the past two weeks, down another 22 cents this week. Gas prices in key states:
California (leader): $6.38 (+0.03) On Sunday, October 4, there are thirty-sex (36) states with average prices at or above $4.00, with twelve (12) below the $4 threshold (other than Indiana, all clustered in the Southeast), not including Hawaii ($5.61) and Alaska ($5.00), with four above $5 (California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) and one, California, above $6.00. The Southeast has maintained as the lowest region overall over the past 15 weeks, with prices falling below $4.00 this week ($3.81-3.95) in places like Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi, with the Midwest region second, prices ranging higher, from $4.04 to $4.21. Exceptions include Florida in the Southeast and Michigan and Illinois in the Midwest. All Northeast states, from Delaware and Maryland all the way to Maine, continue to average well above $4.00. Bitcoin
This week: $85,242.28 Crypto and bitcoin remain bid, though off recent highs. Not everybody is convinced that bitcoin or any crypto is either money or a good investment, kind of sounding like tulips. Precious Metals Gold:Silver Ratio: 68.59; last week: 66.64 Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:
Gold price 9/4: $4,477.20
Silver price 9/4: $66.82
SPOT: (stockcharts.com)
Silver 9/4: $66.20 Gold and silver were ravaged by the COMEX and LBMA, as China celebrated National Day (October 1) and Golden Week (Oct. 1-7). Most of China's exchanges - for stocks and commodities, including gold and silver - are closed for the duration of Golden Week, reopening on October 8, leaving pricing of precious metals in the hands of the master manipulators. Naturally, the devious operators took full advantage of China's absence, taking gold and silver markets to the proverbial cleaners. Expect more downward pressure on PMs until Thursday, October 8, when China's markets re-open. Spot prices in China (and India and elsewhere) are unaffected by the COMEX gambit. For instance, the spot price for silver in China is currently pegged at $69.18 in China and $71.55 in India, presenting a huge opportunity for arbitrage. No doubt, vast amounts of bullion have been leaving American shores, headed to the East for quick profits. In the short term, this leverage is celebrated in the West as cunning and wise, while China, India and other Asian nations are more than happy to trade their fiat dollars for precious metals. Over the long term, this strategy of suppression works only so long as US$ are acceptable for exchange, a condition that has been slowly eroding. The U.S. treasury market is a prime example of general disdain for the dollar. Bond buyers are demanding higher yields and international buyers have been trimming their holdings of treasuries for years. Holders of precious metals will eventually be rewarded - and they have been recently - but the road to higher precious metals prices is a bumpy one. Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (free shipping included, numismatics excluded):
The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) took a massive hit this week, falling to $70.87, a decline of $3.71 per troy ounce from the September 27 price of $74.58. WEEKEND WRAP
At the Close, Friday, October 2, 2026:
For the Week:
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